


But it's Peaceful in the Deep

by FloralBucky



Series: ScarletWidow Soul Mates [1]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Spoilers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Protective Siblings, Protective Steve Rogers, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-02 04:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4046356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloralBucky/pseuds/FloralBucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wanda Maximoff's soul mate is the last thing on her mind as she struggles to navigate the unfamiliar world of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers. But sometimes things (or people) turn up when you least expect them.</p><p>(Soul mate AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify, the "Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff" tag is meant to indicate a sibling relationship, not a romantic relationship between the two.
> 
> Update: I just made a few changes to the first paragraphs describing Wanda's "soul mate dreams." They are pretty minor, but may affect your interpretation of how the soul mate marks work.

_"Looking up from underneath_  
_Fractured moonlight on the sea_  
_Reflections still look the same to me_  
_As before I went under_  
  
_And it's peaceful in the deep_  
_Cathedral where you cannot breathe_  
_No need to pray, no need to speak_  
_Now I am under all_  
  
_And it's breaking over me_  
_A thousand miles down to the sea bed_  
_Found the place to rest my head_  
_Never let me go_  
_Never let me go_  
_Never let me go_  
_Never let me go"_  
  
_-Never Let me Go,_ _Florence and the Machine_

 

*

 

Wanda could hardly remember when the mark began to appear. It was small and barely noticeable, the faint outline of a flower etched into the skin on the inside of her pointer finger, like a tattoo. Circling the flower and running around her finger were the words _“I know you're standing there. I can hear you."_ She vaguely remembered her hands itching and tingling for weeks when she was child before it fully manifested, but her childhood was so hazy that she wasn’t really sure how old she had been. What she did remember was that her father had taken her small hand in his warm weathered ones and observed the mark with curiosity and thoughtfulness. His eyes had crinkled at the corners when he looked up at her and smiled, her palm still cradled in his.

“ _This is your soul mark, little bear_ ,” he had said in a gentle voice. “ _When you find the person you are meant to be with, they will know you are their soul mate because of your mark. The dreams will begin soon, but you shouldn’t be afraid. Everyone gets them. Even I did_.”

She was terrified when she went to bed that night. Her mind raced with questions as she lay there in the dark: _Who is my soul mate? Where are they from? Are they even born yet? What if I don’t have any dreams?_ Pietro could feel her restlessness as he lay in his bed across the room, and only his soft, whispered reassurances soothed her mind enough for her to sleep. Her first dream of her soul mate was blurry and confusing, but a few sensations stood out to her clearly. As she slid into her dream, the first thing Wanda felt was pain. Her side ached viciously as if she had been kicked repeatedly in the ribs and her cheek was pressed to something cold and unyielding, like metal. The feeling suddenly slipped away to reveal a rapid succession of flashing images and sensations; a lock of red hair curling to the ground, a swirl of fabric, a girl spinning swiftly in pointe shoes, the distinct smell of smoke and the sound of feet shuffling across the ground, and then silence. The last thing Wanda saw before she woke up was flames painted across the sky, twisting and turning in the wind.

The dreams left her feeling more confused than anything but she kept having them at least once a month for the entirety of her childhood. The images were always different and seemed to follow the growth and life of her soul mate, if not extremely vaguely and spottily. The only thing that was consistent was the occasional fleeting image of the same flower that was engraved in her own skin.

*

Wanda absently twisted the ring on her pointer finger as she sat outside the operating room, waiting to hear if her brother was going to die. Exhaustion crept through her bones and threatened to cripple her, but she pushed it down. She needed to stay awake and alert for Pietro. As she sat, her mind drifted back to earlier that day.

She had fought with the Avengers to defeat the same evil that she had helped to bring to the world and she had succeeded on that front, but so many people hadn’t survived. Her throat clenched as she thought about those she couldn’t save, the people from her own country that she had helped sentence to death. In retrospect, she couldn’t believe what she was thinking; joining with Ultron and helping him destroy the Avengers. But when she put herself back in her shoes at the time, she sadly felt that she could understand. They had been angry. Angry at Stark, angry at the people who had thrown the explosives that took their parents away, angry at themselves for not being able to do more to avenge their family. They _had_ nothing and _were_ nothing for so long, another pair of orphans in a world full of hardships and struggles, but then suddenly they had something. These powers, whatever they were and however they came to be, were a new chance for her and her brother. A chance to prove themselves, a chance to be as strong as they wished they were when their parents died, and a chance to hit back just as hard as they had been hit, or even harder.

And they almost achieved their goal. They had almost destroyed the Avengers, worked their way inside and torn the team apart by the seams, ripping their darkest memories from the depths of their minds and forcing them towards the light. But she was so glad they hadn’t succeeded completely. She thinks she could have killed them all, if she had really wanted to, but even contemplating it now just made her feel sick. She had battled alongside these people, these superheroes, and she exposed a side of herself that she didn’t even think she had. For the first time in a long time, Wanda was hesitantly optimistic about her future. They might even have a place with the team, Pietro and her, when he woke up.

If he woke up.

Wanda dug the heels of her hands into her eyes with frustration, gritting her teeth. She couldn’t think like that. Pietro was going to be fine, and he would heal and then get up and make corny jokes and be infuriatingly optimistic and run faster than he ever had before. He would be fine, she repeated to herself. It became her mantra for several minutes, the only thing keeping her from breaking down entirely. He would be fine, he would be fine, he would be- But she couldn’t help remembering how she felt when he got shot. The pain that jolted through her that must have been ten times worse in him, the pain that felt like her heart was being ripped to shreds, the pain that drowned her and forced her down, down, down further into the darkness that constantly threatened to overcome her. Pietro was the light. The blinding, brilliant light that kept her from losing hope during all those years. Her twin, whom she felt responsible for even though he was older, whom she had let run off and be a hero to the point where he had almost gotten killed, her twin who was lying on a hospital bed right now with tubes piercing his body and doctors cutting into him and skin so pale he looked like he would float up out of his body and disappear and -

“Hey,” said a soft voice from above her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Her gaze snapped up to find Captain Ameri – Steve – as he had asked her to call him, standing above her, still fully dressed in his suit. His face was smeared with dirt and blood and his hair was slicked through with sweat and grime, but he searched her face gently with concern in his eyes. _Pietro had the same blue eyes_ , she found herself thinking. _Has. He has the same blue eyes_. She clenched her jaw tightly as her thoughts drifted back to Pietro, so vulnerable on the operation table, but she suddenly remembered that she was not alone. She looked up to find Steve still staring at her, though his eyebrows were a bit more furrowed than before and the concern was still visible in his features.

“May I sit?” he asked, gesturing to the chair next to her.

She hesitated, but then nodded, and he joined her in silence for a few minutes. Wanda had wanted to be as close to Pietro as possible during his surgeries, so she had chosen the chairs that were up against the wall of the operation room, and she was comforted by the fact that she could feel his presence through the walls. Steve was also a comforting presence, a warm solid mass of person who appeared to genuinely care about her, but he still made her slightly uncomfortable and she wasn’t sure if she made him feel the same way. If she did, it was justified. She had messed with his head, torn apart his dreams and made them nightmares. That would make any person hostile.

It certainly had made the Black Widow stay away. After their first and only interaction when Wanda has slipped inside her head and tugged hard until the memories of the Red Room broke free, they had not had any more reason to talk. They had fought on opposite sides of the city, and even now, after the fight was over, she hadn’t seen Natasha at all. Avengers Tower was a big place and it seemed relatively easy to avoid everyone if you wanted to be alone, and the second they returned Natasha had vanished. Wanda truly felt bad about what she had done and she wanted the opportunity to apologize to Natasha, especially because the memories she had exposed were raw and had been buried deeper than those of the other Avengers, but she definitely did not think that the Black Widow would appreciate her apology.

She sighed in frustration and knotted her fingers together, subconsciously twisting her ring around and around, and the edges of the metal bit into the skin of her soul mate mark. Steve’s gaze drifted to her hands and she could feel his eyes focus on the ring’s unusually wide band. She was grateful that he didn’t ask about it, but instead turned his gaze back to the wall in front of him and sat there in silence. She was unnerved by his ability to sit completely still but grateful for his calm strength at the same time.

Time passed and she sank deeper and deeper into her thoughts. She couldn’t tell exactly how many hours had gone by since she found herself on this chair outside the operating room, but it was long enough that her limbs were beginning to numb. She sensed a movement to her left as Steve started to open his mouth as if to ask a question, but before he got one word out a frantic beeping sound began to emanate from the adjacent room. Without even realizing she had moved Wanda was on her feet, all her senses on high alert, and Steve leaped up not long after her.

Wanda all but flew around the corner and burst through the double doors into operating room. What she saw made her mouth go dry and her magic pulse erratically in her veins: Pietro was lying shirtless on the table with half of his chest and abdomen cut open, convulsing so violently that she could see even his pale eyelids trembling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback! Sorry it's been so long, but inspiration suddenly struck again and I was able to grind out another chapter pretty quickly :)
> 
> Several things before we get back to the story:  
> 1\. I did minimal to no research about the medical stuff so pls ignore the inaccuracy  
> 2\. I know this chapter is really similar to the first one but it starts to pick up after this!  
> 3\. You will finally see some Wanda/Nat and probably some Steve/Sam in the next chapter, but I had to get things going first (sorry!!)
> 
> YAY! I hope you guys enjoy :)))
> 
> ps. wanda and steve being bros is one of my favorite things

Time seemed to stop as Wanda stared at Pietro’s body. He was moving, his whole body trembling, but at that moment he couldn’t have seemed any less alive. It was an out of body experience, seeing her brother’s chest cut open like he was a cadaver going through a particularly grueling autopsy while at the same time seeing him moving. She was so utterly terrified of him for a second that she hesitated before surging forward towards the operation table, trying to find away around the doctors to get to her brother. Despite all her efforts, she kept getting shoved back by people rushing around. She took a small step back to avoid colliding with someone and bumped into something solid as she did. She whipped around, everything still moving achingly slowly, to find Steve standing there, his eyes fixed on her and his hands around her thin wrists.

Locking eyes with him was like a snap back to reality and before she could really register what was happening, time jolted back into place around them. She stumbled slightly in Steve’s grip but he didn’t let her go and his touch felt like fire. She jerked her head around; breathing heavily, and then things began to happen faster than she could keep up with. Her limited view of Pietro was suddenly obstructed by several more doctors in pale blue scrubs that swarmed around the operation table like ants and before she could even begin to try and see what they were doing to her brother, she and Steve were being pushed out of the operation room and back out into the hall.

It wasn’t until they stood in the crushing, white silence of waiting room again that Wanda realized that Steve’s hands were still clenched tightly around her wrists as if he was holding her back. She went rigid in his grip and he dropped her arms and took a step back as if she had burned him.

“I’m sorry,” Steve began after a moment of awkward silence, ducking his head. “I shouldn’t have grabbed you. It’s just that…” he trailed off, looking up at her through his eyelashes and then shaking his head resignedly.

“What?” Wanda asked flatly, narrowing her eyes at him. Steve grimaced slightly before reluctantly looking her in the eyes.

“Back there,” he began, gesturing vaguely towards the imposing double doors of the operation room, “something odd happened. When you saw…Pietro…” he hesitated over the name as if saying it too loudly would set her off, “you started using your powers. It looked like you were moving around at an impossible speed, kind of like your brother. And I didn’t mean to grab you, honest, but I didn’t want you to do something you would regret.” He furrowed his eyebrows as if in thought and then fixed his steady gaze on her, his eyes glancing over her features as if to gauge her reaction to what he had just said.

Wanda stared at him for a moment before realizing what he was referring to. In the few moments after she saw Pietro lying there time had seemed to slow down for her and everything had moved eerily slowly. But after hearing what Steve had said, it was possible that time actually _was_ moving slowly and that it wasn’t just her imagination. And it was also possible that time wasn’t even slowing down, but that instead she was speeding up. She could imagine herself jerking around the room spewing red sparks, like a fly trapped in a glass jar. Wanda’s headache returned suddenly with full force and she backed into the corner until she was sitting in the same chair as before with her head cradled in her hands.

She saw Steve settle beside her out of the corner of her eye and she debated whether or not she should tell him what she was thinking. Steve Rogers was a good man, she knew that, and he would listen to her and he wouldn’t judge her, but she was a quiet person and wasn’t used to spilling her soul to anyone but Pietro. _But_ , the other half of her brain argued, _it might help to talk to someone. Even if he can’t truly understand, he can listen_.

Wanda let out a quiet sigh and sat up until she felt herself hit the hard back of the chair. It was grounding, in a way, to feel her bones going rigid and to sit so straight up and still, and she felt herself gathering courage. “These _powers_ ,” she spit out bitterly, startling Steve with the uncharacteristic ferocity of her voice, “are still extremely unfamiliar to me. Most of what I did in the past few days was experimentation. I was never taught how to use them because there was never any time, and sometimes I feel like I’m dangerous to everyone around me because even I don’t know what I can do. “Like back there,” she paused, glancing at Steve to see that he was staring at her intently, “I was feeling…overwhelmed. Afraid. When I saw him lying there I thought that everything around me was slowing down, but apparently I was actually speeding up. I can be using my powers and not even understand that I’m doing it and that…” she paused, staring down at her hands. The artificial lighting of the room reflected harshly off her ring and made it uncomfortable to look at for too long. She turned her gaze away, looking back up at Steve. “That makes me nervous,” she finished lamely. “I’m just glad you were there to stop me before I caused any damage or…” her throat tightened.

“Hurt Pietro,” is what she was thinking, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Steve watched the muscles in her face tense as she clenched her jaw and sat back hard in her chair, lapsing into a silence that seemed final. He sat back in his chair and tapped his finger restlessly as if deciding his next move. Wanda closed her eyes and prepared for another long wait.

“I’m going to ask them about what happened with Pietro,” he said suddenly, hopping up out of his chair. He strode away down the hall and she heard him rapping on the glass window to get one of the doctors’ attention. With her eyes closed it was easier to hear what was going on, so Wanda listened in the darkness as the door opened and someone emerged. She couldn’t distinguish words, but Wanda heard a brief hushed conversation occur before the door opened and closed again and she heard Steve’s booted footsteps approaching. She kept her eyes closed, fully expecting him to sit back down, but she opened them with slight irritation when she didn’t hear him move.

“The doctor said that there was a small complication with the surgery that caused a minor heart attack, but that everything is back on track as they had planned.” Wanda involuntarily let out her breath in a sigh of relief. She looked up at Steve as he stood there, expecting him to leave or sit, but it was clear that he wasn’t done talking. “She also said that it would be hours until the surgery was even finished and that your time would probably be better served in medical or resting.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes at him slightly. She doubted very much that the doctor cared what she did. Steve’s cheeks flushed slightly at her scrutiny.

“Ok, the doctor didn’t say that last part. But it is true, Wanda,” he said, finally coming to sit back down next to her. Having him lurking above her was unnerving. “It’s been a long day, probably one of the longest days of our lives, and you need to rest. I would be more than happy to sit down here and notify you as soon as he comes out of surgery, but I think you should go upstairs and clean up and get comfortable. Tony already has a room set aside for you up in the residential part of the tower and I’m sure it’s all ready for you to move straight in, if that’s what you want. If not…” Steve trailed off, looking down at his hands as if the thought of her not staying with the Avengers made him upset, “then you could at least stay here for a few days and recuperate. All of us have some scrapes and bruises that could probably stand to be looked at.”

Wanda considered what he said. It was true that she wasn’t really doing anything by sitting down here and that her close proximity to her brother had actually almost caused more damage than good, but the thought of leaving Pietro alone in the operation room with a bunch of strange doctors that she didn’t trust made her uneasy.

 _But he won’t be alone_ ; a voice in the back of her head reminded her. _Steve will protect him_. Wanda glanced out of the corner of her eyes at Steve, who was staring somewhere off into the distance as he probably waited for her to say something in response. A sudden wave of trust passed through her when she looked at him, and it shocked her so much that she subconsciously scooted further away from him in her chair. She trusted Steve right now and she had trusted him with the lives of her people during the battle earlier today, so she was sure she could trust him with Pietro’s safety. Her chest burned slightly and she felt her eyes sting. She hadn’t trusted anyone other than Pietro in a long time, and it was a strange feeling. A nice one, she decided as she sat there looking at Steve, but a foreign one nonetheless.

She had a suspicion that Steve and her might become friends, if she stayed.

“Ok,” she said out loud, standing quickly before she could change her mind. “I’ll go “rest,” she said a bit sarcastically, catching Steve’s flash of a grin as she turned away.

Wanda made her way towards one of the enormous silver elevators that dominated most of the opposite wall and pressed the up button. She watched as the numbers dropped from somewhere near 20 to 2, and then whirled back around to face Steve, who was observing her with a fond expression.

“Thanks,” she said softly, gesturing towards the operation rooms. “For staying with him. You really don’t have to.”

“Yeah I do,” Steve responded, giving her a wry smile. “And you’re very welcome.”

Wanda had the unnerving feeling that Steve knew exactly how she felt about someone being there to watch over Pietro during his surgery, and she slipped into the gaping elevator before he could see the expression on her face. She didn’t know when she had gotten this easy to read, but she hoped that she wasn’t wearing all of her emotions on her sleeves, Wanda thought cynically as the elevator doors wooshed shut behind her.

Though it made her slightly uncomfortable to talk to the AI, Wanda had no other choice if she wanted to figure out what floor she was supposed to go to. “Friday?” she called tentatively, mimicking what she had seen Tony do when they had rushed Pietro into the elevator on a stretcher and down 63 floors from the Quinjet landing pad on the roof. She shook her head to clear her mind of those thoughts. Now was not the time to relive that terrifying moment.

“Yes, Ms. Maximoff,” the woman’s voice responded, startling Wanda slightly. “How can I help you?”

Wanda was sure she looked ridiculous, a small woman standing in the center of such a huge metal box, talking to what looked like herself.

“I’d like to go to my room, please,” she said hesitantly, not sure if Tony had already programed Friday to know where here room was.

“Very well,” Friday responded in her humanoid voice. “Your room is on floor number 57, which was previously a floor dedicated to housing guests to the tower. Floor number 57 may also house Mr. Maximoff, if he so chooses.”

“Thank you, Friday,” Wanda breathed, relief audible in her voice. She would have been fine if she had needed to live a few floors away from Pietro, but it made her more at ease to know he would be close in case something happened.

Wanda leaned against one of the shiny chrome walls as the elevator rose swiftly upwards. She was exhausted, and now that she wasn’t directly worrying about Pietro, she could feel her head pounding again and one of her wrists aching. Sighing softly, Wanda closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself to see other Avengers on the residential floors. _Hopefully this will be a start to a great new life_ , Wanda thought, voice void of her usual skepticism. _Hopefully…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that it's been so long :(((  
> I promise to be better about updating this in the future, and I'm done with the worst part of this school year, so I will write as much as possible!

The elevator _dinged_ suddenly, jerking Wanda awake. For a moment she had no idea where she was, and she whipped her head around in confusion. When she saw the bright monitor that read “57,” she relaxed. She was in the elevator in Avengers Tower, on her new floor. She shook her head. She must have fallen asleep during the elevator ride. The metal wall was a bit smudged where her head had been resting and there was a cold, flat indent in her cheek. She sighed; maybe Steve was right after all. She should get some sleep.

“Ms. Maximoff, you have arrived at floor 57,” Friday prompted. Wanda swore she could detect some amusement in Friday’s voice, but she dismissed it as her own deliriousness. Friday was an AI, a robot. She couldn’t have emotions…could she? Wanda resolved to ask Steve about it later and stepped out of the elevator into a small entrance area with a big door a few feet in front of her. Wanda stepped forward and pushed through the door into a spacious common room.

The first thing she noticed was the light. It was pouring in from what seemed like everywhere, bright, warm, and inviting. When her eyes adjusted, Wanda could fully appreciate the wall made up entirely of windows, each equipped with its own thick set of cream-colored curtains. She took another hesitant step inside, and was surprised when the dark hardwood floor yielded to her feet. She glanced down and realized that she was standing on a thick brown rug. She carefully removed her dirty boots and set them on the edge of the carpet before taking a few steps into the fluffiness. Wanda let out a little giggle and wiggled her socked toes in the carpet for a second before she quickly sobered. She shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy herself while Pietro was still in so much pain. She couldn’t believe she let herself forget about him, even for a second. Her priority was to get herself cleaned up, and then she could return to him. Wanda turned left out of the common room and found herself in a kitchen. She frowned at it for a second before turning around and heading in the opposite direction. _The apartment isn’t_ that _big,_ she sighed to herself, _and I’ve already gotten lost. Great._

After a few more moments of aimless wandering, Wanda arrived at the door to her bedroom. There was another door a on the opposite hall that led to what Wanda assumed would be Pietro’s room. Wanda once again toed off her dirty shoes before pushing her way inside the room. It was big and warm, with a large bed in the center, several massive dressers, a tall closet, and a fancy, probably Stark-made flat screen TV on a stand. Wanda padded over to the first dresser and found a few Stark Industries t-shirts and sweatpants folded up inside. She pulled out some that looked about her size and laid them out carefully on the bed.

Now to the bathroom _._ She hadn’t had a warm shower in… she didn’t even know how long. It wasn’t like Strucker had treated them as anything more than glorified lab rats, so they didn’t have luxuries like hot water and three different types of shampoo. Wanda’s eyes widened as she took in the impressive array of bottles on the sink counter, and she picked three at random and placed them in one of the built-in shower shelves. She stripped methodically and folded her clothes into a neat stack on the toilet seat, then stepped into the shower.

The warmth felt alien, but amazing. Wanda sighed and stood there under the spray for a moment, her head resting against the cool tile wall. She tiredly began to scrub herself down, washing away the blood, mud, and bad memories of yesterday’s battle. A stream of pink water swirled down the drain when Wanda rinsed her hair, and a gentle touch to her scalp revealed a tender wound just behind her hairline. Wanda frowned. It probably wasn’t that bad. Didn’t head wounds bleed more? When she was clean it was easy to see the dozens of unhealed cuts, scrapes, and bruises that marred her pale skin. Wanda brushed her fingers over a particularly nasty cut on her upper arm and winced at the sting. Steve would tell her to go to medical for it, because it was possible that she needed a few stitches, but she really didn’t want to deal with doctors and questions. As clean as she could be, Wanda switched off the shower and dried off, wrapping her hair in another fluffy, towel.            

Although she was exhausted, Wanda felt clean and warm, and she was glad that she followed Steve’s advice to take some time to herself. She was no use to Pietro in the shivering, highly-strung state she was in when they first arrived at the tower. She closed her eyes for a second, the crippling fear that he wouldn’t make it washing over her in a terrifying wave. _He would be fine_. She repeated the mantra as she got dressed and braided her wet hair. When she finished, Wanda sat on the edge of the bed, thinking. She could sleep, she could go back to the hospital to see Pietro and profusely thank Steve for watching over him…or she could seek out the Black Widow.

Wanda suspected that Natasha had been ignoring her. It was easy for Natasha to avoid Wanda during the battle because everyone was distracted by the impending destruction of the world, but the rest of the team had more or less forgiven Wanda for her actions. Clint had offered her the chance to be an Avenger and in the heat of fighting, it sounded a lot like acceptance. Steve, with his bleeding heart of gold, was kind to Wanda long before she deserved to be in his good graces. Sam and Steve were practically joined at the hip, and he was as forgiving of her as Steve. Tony felt terrible about the hole his weapons had ripped in her family and had expressed his apologies as they flew back to the tower after the battle, and Thor had simply clasped his hand on her shoulder with a sunny smile before soaring away. The Hulk was missing but Wanda wouldn’t expect him to forgive her even if he was there. She had caused him to destroy half of the city of Wakanda. She didn’t forgive herself for that either, and she probably never would. The only person left was Natasha, whom she hadn’t spoken to at all.

If Wanda was going to accept both Clint and Steve’s invitations to join the Avengers, she wouldn’t feel right without having each and every member’s acceptance. She didn’t want to inconvenience anyone more than she already had.

Wanda sighed, pushing herself up and crossing the room to the window. The city bustled far beneath her: yellow taxicabs pushing their way through the streets, each pedestrian weaving in and out of the crowd on a mission. Everyone in this city seemed so sure of themselves, Wanda mused. They all seemed to know their place in the world and their place in the overwhelming bustle of New York. Wanda had been uncertain about her place in the world for so long that it would be odd to know where she fit, to be part of something bigger than herself. She absently twisted her ring around her pointer finger a few times, the motion soothing. It would be odd, she reasoned, but it wouldn’t be bad. Not at all. With a definitive twist of her mouth, Wanda made her decision. They would stay, her and Pietro, and be part of the team, part of something that could change the world for the better. She had found her place.

"Friday?” Wanda called softly, turning away from the window.

“How can I help you Ms. Maximoff?” the AI promptly responded in her lilting, musical voice.

“How might I find Natasha?” Wanda asked. She fiddled with her ring again as she waited. After a brief pause, Friday responded:

“Ms. Romanoff lives on floor 60, three above you. She is currently in her room. Simply take the elevator outside your floor.” Friday paused for a second, as if she was thinking. “Would you like for me to alert Ms. Romanoff that you are planning on visiting?”

“No! No thank you,” Wanda blurted out. She didn’t want to sneak up on Natasha or show up unwelcomed, but she also didn’t want to give the woman any chance to avoid this conversation. She headed towards the door, nervous, but determined.

“Oh, and Friday?” she paused at the door.

“Yes Ms. Maximoff?”

“Is there any way I can get more clothes and toiletries? If this goes well I believe I’ll be staying for a while.”

Wanda swore she could detect a smile in Friday’s voice when she replied “Of course Ms. Maximoff. I will request that Mr. Stark provide you with a Stark Industries credit card, which you may use to purchase items online or at any store in the city. I may assist you with setting it up, when you so desire.”

“Thank you very much,” Wanda smiled slightly. “By the way, you can call me Wanda, if you’d like.”

“Of course, Ms. Maxim- Wanda,” Friday corrected herself. “Good luck.”

“I suppose I’ll need it,” Wanda sighed, and then set off towards the elevator. It was now or never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm teRRibLE I knOW that I promised some Wanda/Nat interaction in this chapter but it didn't feel right to cram it in.  
> The next chapter, however, will be much more exciting ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry for the long gap in between this chapter and chapter 3, but I'm a pretty slow writer. I hope you guys enjoy anyway! Currently working on chapter 5 :)
> 
> Translation:
> 
> Дерьмо - Shit 
> 
> ((I decided to use Russian as the language of Sokovia because I imagine that they are geographically close))

_This is the second nervous elevator ride I’ve taken today;_ Wanda mused as the elevator carried her to floor 60. At least she was feeling better than she had when she came up from the hospital floor. She was clean, she was wearing new (albeit ill-fitting and Stark Industries branded) clothes, and she had finally decided to pursue a new life with the Avengers. Emotionally, however, she was just as screwed. She was nervous, apprehensive, and more than a little terrified of what Natasha’s reaction to her apology might be. If Natasha refused to look past Wanda’s terrible mistakes…

            Wanda broke out of her thoughts when the elevator dinged, signaling her arrival to the 60th floor. She took a deep breath, and then stepped out. Wanda found herself in a little entrance area similar to the one outside her floor. The door was halfway open, and Wanda could hear the heavy beat of some pop song playing inside. She raised her hand to knock, and then paused. _God, why was she so nervous?_ Natasha was nothing if not formidable in battle and intimidating in person, but that wasn’t a good enough reason for Wanda to be acting like a scared child. She scrubbed her hands over her face in frustration. She was going to stop being a baby and get this over with. Never mind the fact that this conversation was potentially life changing. Wanda shook her head, attempting to clear it of all negative thoughts. She would knock on the door in 3…2…

            “I know you’re standing there. I can hear you.” Natasha’s amused voice floated through the open door.

Wanda blinked twice. She must have heard wrong. It was impossible. There was no way. And yet…Wanda stood there frozen as emotions hit her like bullets, one after another, pounding painfully into her skull. Wanda felt an overwhelming sensation of rightness, of belonging, flow through her. It was like the darkness trapped behind her rib cage was suddenly set free and now there was just lightness, air inside of her. She took a deep breath, her lungs filling with sweetness, and it felt like she could breathe better than she had in a long time. After what seemed like an eternity the feeling simmered down, but Wanda still felt strangely foreign in her own body, like her head was finally screwed on correctly and she hadn’t realized that she had ever been _wrong_ before until right now. Wanda was dizzy with shock and disbelief, and she felt like all her dreams of her soul mate were flashing before her eyes. All this time, all these years later…

A sudden, vicious itching sensation emanated from her pointer finger, under her ring.

“Дерьмо!”

Wanda tore the band off and let it clunk to the ground, and it rolled to a stop a few feet away. As Wanda watched, amazed and horrified, the simple, black outline of a flower etched into her skin began to change. Color seemed to bleed into the shape; bright purple, black, tinges of blue. After a few tense seconds, the flower was no longer plain, but vibrant. The words circling the flower were the same, elegant font they had always been, but they were now darker and stood out more starkly against her skin.

The door suddenly flew open and Wanda practically jumped out of her boots in shock. And there, right in front of her, stood Natasha, bright hair disheveled and eyes wild. She was barefoot, wearing a t-shirt and faded jeans, and there was a spatula in her right hand. Wanda could only just see a bright purple flower, identical to hers, on Natasha’s left hand.

They stared at each other for a few moments, neither of them daring to be the first to move or make a sound. Natasha looked strangely vulnerable, her demeanor open and unfamiliar. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she looked oddly approachable. Wanda’s gaze drifted over her features; curved eyebrows, doe eyes blown wide in shock, the gentle slope of her nose that turned up slightly at the end, the hard lines of her jaw and chin, her slightly parted lips –

No. This was not happening. Wanda was not doing this. This couldn’t be possible. How could Natasha - someone she had caused so much harm and pain in the past few days alone - be her soul mate? She tore her eyes away from Natasha’s face and practically fled down the hall. She faintly heard Natasha calling her name, but she kept on running. She couldn’t possibly face Natasha after what she had done, especially now. Luckily she ran away in the direction of a staircase, because before she could even think she was tearing down it. Her boots clunked loudly on each step as she threw herself down with abandon. Her mind kind of fuzzed over for a little bit and she went into autopilot, and the next thing she knew her back was pressed against the inside of her apartment door.

Her brain was running so fast she could hardly keep up and her heart was pounding, trying desperately to beat its way out of her chest. She felt like she was about to overflow with emotions and she just really, really wanted to talk to Pietro. He would know what to do in this situation. He would calm her, sit her down, get her a cup of tea, hold her hand, and simply let her talk. When she exhausted herself, he would curl her into his chest and stroke her hair until she fell asleep, and everything would be better when she woke up. She couldn’t talk to him, she knew that, but she could at least be near him. And maybe Steve would be willing to help her through this.

Wanda pushed her hair out of her eyes and wiped her sweaty palms on her sweatpants. She stood up straight, took a deep breath, and steeled herself. She couldn’t be a melting mess right now. Steve didn’t deserve to have all of her feelings thrown at him at once. She would very calmly explain to him what had happened and he might have some advice for her. She wasn’t sure if he had a soul mate, but she could tell that something was going on between him and The Falcon. When they got back to the tower after the battle in her home country Sam Wilson was there waiting for them (for Steve in particular), worry shining in his eyes. She would go down to the hospital with a level head and they would talk, and everything would be fine.

 

Of course everything kind of went to shit.

 

The first thing that went wrong was that Sam, The Falcon, was sitting next to Steve when she got off the elevator. He was wearing jeans and an orange fleece and he was talking to Steve animatedly, his hands waving. Steve was staring at him with so much adoration that Wanda felt like she was intruding on a private moment, and she blushed and looked down. Well, so much for her talking to Steve alone.

It didn’t take more than a moment for them to notice her standing there awkwardly, and Steve beckoned her over. He had rolled his suit down and tied it off at the waist, and the white t-shirt underneath was sticking to his skin. Steve quirked an eyebrow at Wanda’s clothes, but quickly sobered when he took in her slightly panicked expression. Sam moved one seat over without comment so Wanda could sit in between them, and then looked at her with such a gentle, open expression that Wanda suddenly found herself close to tears. She had never once talked to Sam Wilson and she only knew the smallest bit about him through Steve but here he was, treating her as if she was something more than a out of control, emotional little girl. She screwed her eyes shut and forced her heartbeat to calm down, taking several short, slow breaths. When she felt like she wasn’t on the verge of sobbing, Wanda opened her eyes to see both Steve and Sam looking at her with obvious concern. Steve patted the seat in between them and Wanda moved over to it without even really realizing what she was doing. Moments passed as she sat curled up in the chair, and neither of them pressured her to speak. Though she could practically feel their pressing curiosity, they let her gather herself and decide the best way to approach this conversation. Which, Wanda decided, was probably to just say it outright.

“I think Natasha is my soul mate,” Wanda blurted out. The resulting silence was deafening, and she instantly regretted her words. How could she forget that some people didn’t believe in soul mates? That some people thought they were just fairytale bullshit because not everybody was born with a soul mark? What if Steve and Sam didn’t believe her and dismissed her and then she would be back to square one without anyone to talk to with all this weight on her chest and all these new emotions that she didn’t know how to deal with and then she would have to face Natasha eventually and she would be completely unprepared and Natasha probably wouldn’t want her as a soul mate because she was broken and messy and she had done terrible things to good people and -

“Wanda! _Wanda!”_

Wanda snapped back to Steve calling her name.

“Wanda, breathe!” Steve commanded, his wide blue eyes swimming in front of her face. Wanda obeyed and took a heaving, shuddering breath, and only then realized that she previously hadn’t been breathing at all. Her chest burned as she sucked in air, her eyes screwed shut. She felt Steve hovering over her left shoulder and Sam hovering over her right as cool air soothed her stinging lungs. It took a few tense minutes, but soon Wanda’s breathing was more or less back to normal. She opened her eyes and instantly shrank back into her chair in dismay. _Fuck_ , she was such a screw-up. She couldn’t even ask for advice without breaking down. Wanda could feel her hands trembling, and she knotted her fingers together in an attempt to stop them from shaking.

“Wanda,” Steve said softly, turning in his chair so she had no choice but to look at him. “Can you tell us what happened? Sam and I would like to help you, if you’re willing to let us.” He gazed at her imploringly, and she knew that he was being sincere. A quick glance at Sam revealed that he believed Steve’s statement as much as Steve did. They actually _wanted_ to help her. Wanda sat up, pressed her palms into her thighs, and told them everything. She told them about how she had wanted to apologize to Natasha for everything she had done and ask for her acceptance. She told them about hearing Natasha’s words, and everything she had felt. She told them about Natasha coming out of her apartment, and about her own subsequent flight. Finally, she showed them her soul mark, which was bared to the world because she had left her ring, tossed away on Natasha’s floor. What Sam told her next was the opposite of what Wanda would have ever expected.

“Steve and I are soul mates, you know,” he said casually, the corner of his mouth turning up in a small smile.

She stared at him in shock. She had suspected that they were together, but they were _soul mates?_ Some of Wanda’s surprise must have shown on her face, because Sam chuckled.

“We found out when we started jogging the same route around the reflecting pool in D.C. every morning.” As Sam talked, Steve began to smile, most likely at the memory of their meeting. “He lapped me like three times, and every time he would say the same stupid thing.”

Sam pulled off his fleece and showed her the words “ _On your left_ ,” scrawled messily around his left bicep, a single star etched below the letters. Wanda’s eyes widened as she took in the messy lines.

            “Is that your handwriting?” she asked Steve, her voice colored with awe. He nodded, and pulled at the neck of his t-shirt until the words printed neatly along his right collarbone were visible, accompanied by a star identical to Sam’s: “ _Uh huh. On my left. Got it.”_

“That was the first time we spoke,” Steve said, letting his shirt fall back into place. “We traded numbers and planned to meet up, but Hydra kind of got in the way of our plans.” Sam snorted and grumbled something about that being the understatement of the century.

            “Anyway,” Steve continued, ignoring Sam, “We’re trying to tell you that you shouldn’t be afraid of having a soul mate. You deserve to love, be loved, and have happiness. And Lord knows Natasha does too. You two deserve each other.”

            Wanda scoffed to herself. She deserved the opposite of love and happiness for what she had done. Sam looked up sharply at the noise she made, and something in his gaze hardened.

            “Look,” he started, turning to Wanda. “I can’t pretend that I know you very well, or even close to as well as Steve knows you. But I do care about you, because Steve cares about you, and I trust Steve. If he says you deserve your soul mate, then I know you do. I know it can be scary. Try finding out your soul mate is freaking Captain America.” He flashed Steve a mischievous smile, “But I know you can do it. Natasha is a good person, no matter what you may have heard or seen, and she’ll want to talk to you about this. She seems like she has it all together, but everyone needs someone to open up to. So go talk to her,” he finished, looking at Wanda warmly. “What’s the worst that can happen?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for the good stuff... :)

_What’s the worst that can happen? What’s the worst that can happen?_ Sam’s words buzzed through Wanda’s mind as she trekked back up the staircase towards Natasha’s floor. After Sam and Steve’s encouragement, Wanda had hesitantly agreed to go see Natasha again. Steve had convinced her that she couldn’t avoid the other woman forever, especially if they were going to be living a few floors away from each other and both be part of the Avengers. They had wished her luck - Steve suggested that she take the stairs part of the way up instead of the elevator so she could have more time to think through what she was going to say – and sent her on her way. Wanda’s legs burned as she approached the landing of the 59th floor. She had gotten off the elevator on level 50 to walk and she was definitely out of breath. Friday had seemed confused as to why Wanda was opting to use the stairs, but Wanda felt minutely more secure in what she was going to do now that she had time to think.

            Wanda crested the last stair and let out a sigh of relief. She braced her hands on her knees and took a deep breath: partly out of exhaustion and partly out of stomach curdling fear. Ever since she was a little girl she had thought about who her soul mate might be, dreamed about her soul mate, and a little ripple of excitement ran through her when she considered possibly, finally, meeting the person with the same flower symbol printed on their body. Now the excitement was replaced with aggressive nerves. She knew logically that Natasha was her soul mate; they had the same flower on their hands, Natasha’s words were circled around Wanda’s finger, and what she had felt when they met couldn’t have been a coincidence. Illogically, she still half hoped that it wasn’t true. She was terrified of Natasha, she was terrified that Natasha wouldn’t forgive her for what she’d done, and she was overwhelmingly afraid that Natasha wouldn’t want her. That she would take one look at Wanda, her soul mate, and demand another one. Wanda’s stomach clenched painfully at that thought, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. Now wasn’t the time to think up the worst possible scenarios. Now was the time to get over herself, gather her wits, and talk to Natasha.

            Wanda pushed herself up, wiped her face, straightened her back, and marched up to Natasha’s door with as much authority as she could muster. She knocked three times before she could lose her nerve and stood there anxiously as she heard Natasha bustling around inside. The sound of footsteps grew louder as Natasha approached, and then Wanda was hit with a wave of déjà vu as Natasha swung open the door. She looked exactly the same as the last time Wanda was there: barefoot, with her side bangs resting gently against her cheeks. The expression on Natasha’s face when she saw Wanda was hard to read, but it definitely wasn’t surprised. She looked guarded, expectant, but there was some underlying emotion there that was hidden behind her carefully constructed façade.

            “Do you want to come in?” Natasha asked suddenly. She stared at Wanda carefully, gauging her reaction.

            Wanda panicked briefly, then scolded herself. Of course Natasha was going to ask her to come inside. What were they going to do, stand in the hallway?

            “Ok,” she said quietly, and followed Natasha inside.

            Being inside Natasha’s apartment was…odd. It was the same layout as Wanda’s but also clearly different, and it was like stepping into a part of Natasha’s personality that Wanda had never seen before. It was bright, sunlight bouncing off the walls, but Natasha’s curtains were lacy and dark blue, unlike Wanda’s cream ones. Natasha had a mismatched collection of couches, all in various shades of blue, and the rug underneath them was a swirling pattern. The towering bookshelf in one corner caught Wanda’s attention and her gaze drifted to it. From what she could see, it was full of books, movies, and little trinkets, and it stretched halfway along a wall and rose all the way to the ceiling.

            Natasha was silent while Wanda took in her surroundings, and Wanda only realized that she was being rude when a loud beeping noise sounded from the direction of the kitchen and caused her to jump. She turned to Natasha, who surprisingly also looked a bit startled at the noise.

            “That would be the muffins,” she said apologetically. “I’ll be right back. You can sit down if you’d like…” Natasha trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the couches before she disappeared into the kitchen. Wanda sat gingerly on the edge of one of the larger couches, her hands folded in her lap. This was…unexpected. She didn’t think that Natasha – brave, confident, untouchable Natasha – could ever be anything other than that. But she seemed on edge too, and it made Wanda feel a bit better. At least she wouldn’t be the only one tripping over her words and generally making herself look worse than she already had.

            Natasha returned a moment later with two glasses of water and sat down on the couch a few feet away from Wanda. Wanda gratefully accepted the glass when it was offered to her and took a few sips simply to avoid being the first person to talk. As she drank, she could feel Natasha watching her intently, and she couldn’t help but think that Natasha knew exactly what she was thinking.

            “Can I see it?” Natasha asked suddenly, her gaze serious. Wanda started blankly back at her for a moment, the glass clutched tightly between her fingers, before she realized what “it” was. Her soul mark. She slowly put the glass down, wiped the condensation off her palms, and held her left hand out to Natasha. If the other woman noticed it was shaking, she didn’t say anything; she simply took Wanda’s fingers between her own.

            Wanda flinched slightly when Natasha’s cool skin came into contact with hers, and Natasha looked up sharply at the sudden movement.

            “Is this okay?” she asked, her hands still cradling Wanda’s. Wanda nodded, not trusting herself to speak. It felt like something heavy was lodged in her throat.

            Natasha maintained eye contact with Wanda for a second more, as if assessing whether or not she was really okay, and then returned her attention to Wanda’s soul mark. She brushed her index finger over the flower, then traced her way over the words. Wanda shivered, and Natasha drew away. It was silent for a moment before she spoke.

            “How long have you been having the dreams?” she asked quietly, her eyes fixed at a point somewhere to the left of Wanda’s head. Wanda frowned, but answered truthfully.

            “Since I was a child. I think I was about 10 when they started.” There was another long silence, during which Natasha’s expression didn’t change.

            “I’m sorry,” Natasha said suddenly, startling Wanda. “I know the dreams must not have been very pleasant, considering where I was at the time. I’m sorry you had to see what I did.”

            Wanda was so shocked that she didn’t answer immediately. Sorry for seeing what Natasha had done? She was sorry to see what was done _to_ Natasha. The pain she went through, having her childhood snatched from her so early – it reminded Wanda of her own childhood and losing her parents so violently and so soon. She couldn’t believe that Natasha was apologizing for being snatched from her home and trained to become a deadly assassin, all of which was far out of her control.

            “I’m sorry about what was done to you,” Wanda said, cautiously voicing her thoughts. “I’m sorry that all I could do was watch and that I couldn’t find you or help you. No one should go through that, especially not alone.”

            “I wasn’t alone,” Natasha replied gently, looking up at Wanda through her eyelashes. “I guess I had you watching over me. Knowing you were there helped.” The last admission was said quietly, almost shyly.

            Wanda, emboldened by Natasha’s vulnerability, took the other woman’s left hand into her own. She heard Natasha’s breath catch as she stared down at the soul mark and her own expletive etched into Natasha’s skin.

            “Sorry about the…you know,” she blushed, gesturing towards the words on Natasha’s finger. “I’m sure you loved having _Д_ _ерьмо!_ on when you were younger.”

            “It’s not so bad,” Natasha smiled. “I figured out what it meant years before I actually learned the language, and I sometimes imagined why my soul mate would say it to me when we first met. It gave me a way to escape.” Wanda’s heart panged painfully at that. At the idea that Natasha’s life had been so bad that she needed an escape at all.

            “I’m glad,” was all she said out loud. There was another silence, but it wasn’t awkward in the way that Wanda had expected the silences to be, though it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. It was more like a pause for both of them to gather themselves and prepare for the next step into the depths of the conversation.

            “The flower is called wolf’s bane, in case you didn’t know,” Natasha spoke again, turning her hand so she could see her own soul mark. Wanda looked up from her own hands, intrigued.

            “I didn’t know,” she replied. “Wolf’s bane…That’s interesting. Unique.”

            “Well technically it’s called _Aconitum Lycoctonum_ ,” Natasha amended, “But it’s commonly referred to as wolf’s bane. It’s extremely poisonous and was used on the tips of spears and arrows in ancient battles and for hunting.” Wanda leaned closer, interested, sensing that there was more.

            “In Greek mythology,” Natasha continued, her eyes sparkling, “the sorceress Medea tried to kill Theseus using wine poisoned with wolf’s bane. It’s deadly and paralyzes the heart, but it’s also beautiful. It grows on tall stalks; blooms stacked upon blooms, each bruised purple flower snaking out on its own stem, reaching for the sun. They actually look exactly like our soul marks,” Natasha mused. _Our soul marks._ Wanda’s head was spinning.

            Natasha seemed to realize all of a sudden what she had said, because she met Wanda’s gaze quickly before her eyes darted away. She looked so human sitting there, Wanda thought all of a sudden. For so long Natasha was a mystery to Wanda; someone who was there, but not really there, like she was at a higher level than the rest of them. She had this unattainable grace and sophistication, but an equal level of raw power and agility. She was usually a lioness, muscles tensed and coiled to strike at anyone that crossed her, but here…here she was hesitant. Unsure of herself, unsure of their dynamic…It was unsettling to Wanda, to say the least, but also nice. Nice to see this other side her soul mate.

Wanda started. _Her soul mate._ She wasn’t sure if she had ever thought the words before with such gentle feelings behind them. Before, she was terrified to even think the words in the same context of Natasha, because it was daunting and overwhelming. But now, sitting here with the woman herself, she felt safe and she felt like she really could do this. And she found herself _wanting_ to do this. Wanting to be with Natasha, wanting to make this work. _Pietro would be proud_ , she thought with a sudden bubble of amusement. She felt herself smiling.

            And then Natasha looked up at her, looked up at Wanda’s smile, and something strange took over her expression. She looked – longing, Wanda realized suddenly, because she recognized the same emotion that was most definitely written all over her face. Longing, desire, want. Wanda was suddenly aware of how close they were on the couch; they must have drifted together unconsciously while talking about their soul marks. Her knees were pressed up against Natasha’s, and the point of contact burned. Their faces were only a few feet away, close enough so that Wanda could make out each freckle that dotted Natasha’s flushed cheeks. Wanda’s eyes dropped to Natasha’s lips, then fluttered back up again to her eyes, which shone unusually brightly. She summoned all her courage and leaned in a few inches, her hazel eyes still locked onto Natasha’s green ones, and heard Natasha’s shark intake of breath as Wanda slid into her breathing space. They stayed that way for a moment, incredibly close and hardly moving, until all of a sudden Natasha surged forward and pressed her lips to Wanda’s.

            They met in unison, Wanda’s hands coming up to cup Natasha’s cheeks and Natasha’s settling on Wanda’s thighs. Their lips moved together softly at first, hesitantly, but after a moment Natasha took control and then they were _really_ kissing. Natasha kissed with a kind of gentle ferocity that caused Wanda’s chest to burn, and Wanda gave back all she had. Only when Wanda felt like she couldn’t breathe did she pull back, her hands still pressed on either side of Natasha’s face. Both of them were breathing hard, and Wanda wondered if she looked as flustered as Natasha did: her baby hairs were wisping in all sorts of directions and her lips were bright pink and shiny. Wanda stroked her thumbs once, twice over Natasha’s cheekbones before reluctantly placing her hands back in her lap.

            They stared at each other, neither one daring to break the heavy silence, both wondering what to do next. Then Wanda couldn’t help it anymore. All of the emotions of the past few days raged up inside of her and she felt so much adoration towards Natasha that it terrified her and she needed to do something otherwise she would explode.

            So she laughed. She let out a little giggle, then brought her hand to her mouth in horror. What if Natasha thought that she was laughing the kiss? But she couldn’t help herself: another giggle managed to escape. Natasha looked at her with an oddly fond expression on her face as Wanda began to laugh for real, but soon began to laugh herself (Wanda’s giggles were intoxicatingly adorable). Then they were both laughing so hard they couldn’t stay upright. Wanda flopped over against Natasha’s chest because her stomach muscles were focused on laughing and not holding her up, and Natasha’s chin came down to rest on Wanda’s head. Wanda could feel the vibrations of Natasha’s laughter against her skull. They laughed because there wasn’t really anything else to do: crying about their past, apologizing to each other for misunderstandings, and simply screaming were not viable options. So they laughed. Together. After what felt like forever their laughter died down and then they were just leaning against each other, holding each other up. Wanda was tucked safely in Natasha’s arms and Natasha pressed a small kiss into Wanda’s hair. Wanda felt warmer than she had in months, even years, and she felt whole again for the first time ever since her parents were killed.

            “I want to make this work,” she whispered to Natasha, her voice shaking slightly. “I really do.”

            “I want to make this work, too,” Natasha said softly back. And they held each other up until the sun started to slip from the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! It finally happened. The babies are together. But don't worry - THIS IS NOT THE END! I have at least one more chapter to go, and I'm having so much fun writing these kids that I might do some "snippets from the life of Wanda and Nat" or something like that so I can keep going on with the story (I have so many ideas)!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally it's here! The final chapter...

            After a stressful day of soul mate revelations and first kisses, Wanda and Natasha were so exhausted that they fell asleep in each other’s arms. They dozed there for a while -Wanda curled up on Natasha’s stomach and Natasha’s arms draped over her protectively –but woke when they heard Natasha’s phone ring. Apologizing, Natasha carefully extracted herself from under Wanda’s warm body and slipped across the room to answer it. Wanda sat up and watched Natasha fondly from the couch, grinning at the way her red bangs were ruffled from sleep. After a moment Natasha hung up and crossed the room back to Wanda’s side, pressing their shoulders together.

            “That was Steve,” she said carefully, setting her phone down on the coffee table. “He wanted to make sure you were all right.”

            Wanda grimaced. In all the craziness of the past few hours she’d forgotten about Steve and Sam. She hoped they weren’t still sitting downstairs with Pietro, because they deserved to rest.

 _Oh god, Pietro_.

She felt like she was going to be sick. Here she was, cuddling with her _soul mate_ and allowing herself to feel happy and whole, while Pietro was probably fresh out of surgery, unconscious and alone in a hospital bed.

            Natasha must have felt Wanda tense, because she adopted a gentle, soothing tone.

            “Steve said that Pietro is still in critical care and that they won’t allow any visitors until tomorrow. You are not betraying him by allowing yourself to feel happy, or by not staying by his side. If he was awake he would tell you that your life shouldn’t pause just because his is paused, and he knows that you’ll be there when he wakes up.”

            Wanda nodded faintly, because she knew that Natasha was right. But that didn’t make it feel any less wrong.

            “Come on,” Natasha said suddenly, standing swiftly and dragging Wanda with her. We need something to cheer you up.”

            Natasha towed Wanda into the kitchen, plopped her down into one of the swiveling seats next to the island, and then busied herself with something on the counter. After a moment she turned around and presented a plate piled high with muffins.

            “I was making these when you stopped by the first time,” she explained, sliding the plate onto the table and taking the seat next to Wanda. She said it so casually that it took Wanda a second to understand what she meant. “The first time she stopped by” was when she had realized that Natasha was her soul mate and dropped her ring on the ground before running away. Her face burned in shame. She was such a coward, always fleeing from her feelings. Natasha must have sensed what Wanda was thinking or seen the sudden red in her cheeks, because she sighed quietly and gently turned Wanda’s face upward.

            “Hey now,” she soothed, brushing her thumb over Wanda’s jaw. “None of that. If I hadn’t already been in my apartment, I would have freaked out and run away too.”

            Wanda rolled her eyes but allowed herself to be comforted. Natasha smiled encouragingly at her.

            “Oh, that reminds me,” she said, abruptly digging around in her pockets. “I have your ring.” She pulled the silver band out of her jeans and offered it to Wanda. “I figured you’d want it back.”

            Wanda smiled in thanks and slipped it into her jacket pocket. It felt odd to wear the ring that had hid her soul mate mark for so long. She didn’t want to hide it anymore. Natasha seemed to understand the gesture, because she grinned at Wanda. They smiled stupidly at each other for a moment before Natasha broke the spell by directing Wanda’s attention back to the muffins.

            “They’re blueberry and lemon,” Natasha said.

            “I didn’t know you liked to bake,” Wanda said, before she realized that she didn’t know a lot of things about Natasha. Even though they were technically soul mates, they still had a lot to learn about each other. Intrigued, she tore off a small piece of her muffin and put it in her mouth. The flavor exploded across her taste buds and Wanda let out an ungodly moan.

            “Oh wow,” she groaned, her eyes wide. “This is amazing.” She took another bite and sighed as the muffin practically melted under her tongue. She ate a few more bites, making appreciative noises in between each one, and only looked up when she felt eyes on her. Natasha was staring at her with a strange expression on her face, and Wanda flushed when she noticed the heat in Natasha’s eyes.

            “I’m glad you like the muffin, but would you please stop making such obscene sounds,” Natasha begged, only half sounding like she was joking. Wanda blushed even harder and swallowed the last bit of muffin before she nodded bashfully. Could she really have that effect on people? She’d never considered it before – there hadn’t ever been anyone to affect in such a way, until now.

            Natasha was still staring at her when she looked up again, but this time with a different expression on her face – fondness.

            “You’re very adorable,” she breathed, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair back behind Wanda’s ear. Their faces were close together, and Wanda could feel Natasha’s breath ghosting across her cheek. This time it was Wanda who dipped her head towards Natasha’s and pressed their lips together in a kiss. As far as second kisses go, this one was amazing. Natasha had a hand curled around the back of Wanda’s neck and the burning heat of Natasha’s fingers pressed into Wanda’s skin. The kiss grew in intensity with each passing moment until Wanda tentatively darted her tongue over Natasha’s lips. A groan vibrated in Natasha’s chest and she opened her mouth to briefly capture Wanda’s tongue with her own before pulling away. Natasha tucked her face against Wanda’s collarbone, her hand still pressed to the back of Wanda’s neck, and Wanda felt the heavy rise and fall of her own chest against Natasha. They rested that way for a moment, both out of breath and more than a little out of sorts, before Natasha pushed herself back up with a smile.

            “Well.” She brushed a hand over her bangs and grinned coyly at Wanda. “I suppose we could go downstairs to check on Steve and Sam. I wanted to ask them something about their soul marks anyway.” With that she stood up, letting her hand trail off of Wanda’s shoulder, and sashayed across the kitchen. Wanda stared after her in shock. When Natasha reached the door without Wanda getting up to follow her, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder at her soul mate.

            “You coming?” she asked with a smirk.

            Wanda all but threw herself out of her chair towards Natasha, tripping a little as she went, and Natasha laughed and caught her hand before she face planted on the hardwood. Wanda’s cheeks flamed, but Natasha simply kissed her forehead with a chuckle and towed her towards the elevators.

            They arrived downstairs shortly and stepped off the elevator with a polite goodbye from Friday. When they rounded the corner into the waiting area only Steve was sitting there, scrolling through something on his iPad. He had clearly gone to his room to change at some point within the last few hours, because he was wearing a pair of grey joggers and a loose black t-shirt. His hair was still floppy and wet from the shower and Wanda could smell his soothing scent all the way from the entrance. Pine trees and sharp soap. She felt instantly lulled into calm by his presence, even though she was hyperaware of Natasha’s hand in hers. She felt clammy and a bit sick with anticipation, but Natasha dragged her forward before she had a chance to protest. Natasha plopped down gracefully across from Steve and pulled Wanda into the same armchair she was already sitting in, even though it was clearly meant for one person. Wanda’s entire left side was pressed flush against Natasha’s, but they fit. Snuggly.

            Steve had looked up when they entered the room and was now smiling in amusement at Natasha’s antics, but he didn’t say anything about their linked hands. In fact when he caught sight of them, his face seemed to light up. Or Wanda was just imagining things.

            “So, Steve-o,” Natasha began, resting her chin on the hand not currently twined in Wanda’s, “Can we bother you for a moment?”

            “Of course,” Steve said immediately, ever the gentleman. He set down his iPad and turned to give them his full attention. “What do you need?”

            “Wanda and I had a few questions about soul marks and soul mates, and we figured you and Sam were the best people to ask.” Steve nodded. Him and Natasha were close friends and she was comfortable being herself and speaking cavalierly around him and Sam.

            “Sam just went to get some drinks but he’ll be back soon. You can ask me anything you want now, though. I’d love to help,” Steve said sincerely. Wanda was once again floored by his earnest honesty. She knew he could be sarcastic and that he wasn’t as straight and narrow as “Captain America” seemed, but he was still just as warm and true as everyone thought he was.

            “You’re the best,” Natasha grinned. “Okay firstly, I know a good amount about soul mates, but not everything, considering many people believe they’re just superstition. Your soul mark generally appears before puberty, you have the dreams, the words on your soul mark fade away if your soul mate dies, et cetera. But what I don’t understand is the placement of soul marks.” She paused, as if contemplating how to continue, and Wanda sensed an opportunity to jump in.

            “My soul mark is on my left pointer finger, and so is Natasha’s,” she started, making eye contact with Steve. “But your soul mark is on your collarbone and Sam’s is on his arm. Why? Shouldn’t they be in the same place?”

            Steve’s reaction was the last thing she’d expected. His expression shuttered down and something dark passed over his eyes before she could figure out what it was. He looked away. Wanda glanced at Natasha in alarm, but the other woman didn’t seem surprised – just sad.

            “It’s because there’s a third,” a voice said softly from behind Wanda. She whipped her head around in shock to see Sam standing there, a tray of smoothies in one hand and a donut box in the other. He smiled apologetically and moved across from them to sit next to Steve, placing the food on the table in between them.

            “There’s a third soul mate,” Sam clarified. “Bucky Barnes. Him and Steve have been bonded since they were toddlers. Then when I was 9 or 10 my soul mark began to appear on Steve and Bucky, and theirs on me. Steve woke up from the ice with a new soul mark on his collarbone and Bucky…” Sam trailed off uncomfortably.

            “Bucky was Hydra’s prisoner when it happened,” Steve finished solemnly. “We each have two marks on us instead of one. That’s why Sam’s and mine aren’t in the same place. We all have the star, but different words. Bucky’s first words to me are on my left shoulder, in the same place my first words to Sam are. And Sam has Buck’s words on his collarbone. The universe must have had a good laugh when it decided to put Bucky’s words and a star on my left arm.” Steve snorted bitterly. Wanda was confused for a second, before she remembered with a start. Bucky’s left arm was the metal one given to him by Hydra, and it sported a bright red star.

            “Anyway,” Sam cleared his throat, taking Steve’s hand, “that’s why Steve and my soul marks aren’t exactly in the same place. And _when_ Bucky comes back to us, you can ask him about it too.” He smiled encouragingly at Steve, who gratefully smiled back.

            Wanda couldn’t help but squeeze Natasha’s hand for reassurance, and she smiled when Natasha squeezed gently back. They continued chatting about soul mates and soul marks for a while longer, drinking the smoothies and demolishing the dozen donuts (Steve ate half of them). Time slipped away from them and before they knew it the sun started to rise in the sky. Rays of light filtered through the big glass windows and lit the top of Natasha’s head golden. Wanda couldn’t help but stare. Her soul mate was so beautiful. Steve caught Wanda’s eye and gave her a knowing look, and she blushed self-consciously.

            “We’ve been talking all night,” Natasha groaned, stretching like a cat. “I’d say its time we…” she trailed off, her eyes focused on something behind Steve and Sam. Wanda followed Natasha’s gaze and was surprised to see a nurse standing there awkwardly. Her hair was frizzling out of place and she looked exhausted, but she was smiling.

            “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said apologetically, “but your brother is awake.” It took Wanda a second to realize that the nurse was addressing her.

            She was shocked. “He’s awake? Really? Can I see him?” She stumbled over her words in her haste to get them out. She couldn’t believe it.

            “Yes, you can see him right now if you’d like,” the nurse replied warmly. Wanda had already crossed half of the room before she realized that Natasha hadn’t followed her. When she turned back the other woman’s body language was oddly uncertain, but her expression was carefully neutral.

            “Natasha?” Wanda called haltingly. “Would you mind coming with me?” Natasha’s eyes widened in understanding and she was by Wanda’s side in no time, their hands linked.

            “I just – I don’t want to go alone,” Wanda whispered.

            “Of course,” Natasha said, bumping her shoulder with Wanda’s. Wanda smiled gratefully at Steve and Sam, who gave her encouraging grins in return. And then Wanda turned, Natasha’s hand in hers, and followed the nurse towards Pietro’s room. She felt nervous, scared even, to see her brother like this, but she was beyond ready to hear his voice again. And with Natasha pressed against her side, Steve and Sam behind her in the waiting room, and her twin brother ahead, she felt safe. She felt like she had finally found her place, and she was ready to take on anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank everyone who read this story and commented, gave kudos, and provided their support. I know it's been a ridiculously long ride, but I wouldn't have been able to finish this without all of you!
> 
> This story honestly got away from me and I never expected it to be this long, but I'm glad I pushed through my writer's block because I think it turned out pretty good :) 
> 
> Who knows if I'll write more Wanda/Nat in the future, but definitely look out for more from me, because I'm planning some exciting things...
> 
> Love you all and thank you again!


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